Actions

New York Times publishes anonymous Op-Ed from White House official, Trump calls piece 'gutless'

Posted: 1:30 PM, Sep 05, 2018

Updated:2018-09-05 23:54:12Z

By:
Justin Boggs

Getty Images

In a break from tradition and standard practice at the newspaper of 167 years, the New York Times on Wednesday published an unattributed Op-Ed essay the Times said was authored by a senior White House official.

The Op-Ed is among only a handful of unsigned opinion pieces the Times has ever published, and believed to be the first from a high-ranking government official.

In the Op-Ed, the anonymous White House official wrote that many of President Donald Trump's appointees were working to "preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting Mr. Trump’s more misguided impulses until he is out of office."

The Op-Ed essay came one day after excerpts of a new book authored by Bob Woodward of Watergate fame claimed that members of Trump's administration were at times working against the wishes of Trump, a claim also made in the Op-Ed published by the Times.

"The dilemma — which he does not fully grasp — is that many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations," the author wrote.

Trump called the Op-Ed piece "gutless."

"We have somebody in what I call the failing New York Times that's talking about he's part of the resistance inside the Trump administration," Trump said. "This is what we have to deal with. And you know the dishonest media ... But it's really a disgrace."

The New York Times wrote that the senior White House official who authored the Op-Ed is known by the Times, and the official's job would be jeopardized by its disclosure.

The New York Times said it invited questions
on its vetting process for publishing the Op-Ed.